Makeup & nails

It's time to reconsider powder foundation

Makeup & nails

It's time to reconsider powder foundation

The new bareMinerals BarePro Performance Wear Powder Foundation comes in 30 shades, including its deepest-ever colour offerings, thanks to new technologies and the removal of physical sunscreen, which allowed for the creation of richer pigments.

“It was a limiting factor for us,” says Bill Hughes, the brand’s senior director of global marketing and product development, of the SPF. “We believe in mineral sunscreen, but titanium dioxide and zinc oxide have a very ashy cast.”

Added in its wake: vitamins D and E, for hydration, and vitamin B6. “Customers with oily skin tend to be deficient in B6,” says Hughes. “So, along with the silica and mica, it will help control oil absorption.”

These minerals and vitamins are milled to create superfine particles, so the powder foundation avoids looking, well, powdery. Just make sure you apply sunscreen first.

Frank + Oak and the NBA team up on Raptors merch

Trends

Frank + Oak and the NBA team up on Raptors merch

Canadian fashion label Frank + Oak is always up to something, and tomorrow the Montreal-based brand will drop a 9-piece Raptors collection in collaboration with the NBA. The pieces that make up the line are directional, minimal and best of all—unisex. The pieces include a crisp Oxford shirt patterned with a subtle team logo, a heather grey waffle knit mock-neck and a leather backpack. The coolest piece might be the two-tone pop-over shirt. The Oxford's mock-neck collar and mix of materials offer a completely new take on fan gear. Even fair-weather fans (hey, no judgement) will be tempted by this sleek collab.

The collection will launch tomorrow online and at Frank + Oak's Queen West and CF Sherway Gardens outposts as well as the Real Sports Apparel shop at the Air Canada Center. The brand is set to release merch for 5 more NBA teams in 2017. Until then, go Raptors, go!

WATCH: Estee Lalonde plays Fishbowl Frenzy

Books

WATCH: Estee Lalonde plays Fishbowl Frenzy

A few weeks back we had Youtube sensation Estee Lalonde into the ELLE Canada Closet to play a little game of Fishbowl Frenzy! Don't forget to pick up our January 2017 issue to see an exclusive portrait of the Internet star...and now IRL author of a new memoir / life advice book, Bloom.

Sofia Richie doesn't care that you think she's short

Celebrity

Sofia Richie doesn't care that you think she's short

In a new interview with Complex, Sofia Richie, daughter of music icon Lionel Richie, opens up about the challenges she has faced while working in the modelling industry. The 5-foot-6 model says she's often criticized because of her petite stature. "People obviously don’t respect some of the shoots I do because I’m short," she explained.

However the 18-year-old model she promises she doesn't let criticism faze her. "It’s not like I called and begged these designers to work with me," she says. "They felt my vibe and we were cool and that’s that. I really don’t let that stuff get to me."

Other highlights of the interview? Richie did not want to talk about Justin Bieber. Richie's publicist made it clear that "no questions" could be asked about the former fling. Sad face.

While the status of Sofia and Justin's romance remains unclear, one thing is certain. Right now Sofia is focusing on her career. "I'm super interested in having a fashion line which I am kind of working on, but I really love modelling because I get to be involved with clothes and designers. I get to hear them out and see what they're interested in. I'm kind of taking notes in the corner."

Trends

Meet our January 2017 cover girl: Canadian model Crista Cober

Canadian model (and star of our January fashion story) Crista Cober has been working in the industry for 12 years, but she’s still wrapping her head around the public’s desire to know about her inner life. “I’m a professional model, so I think, wait, ‘you also want to know about me?” explains the Wellesley, Ont. native over the phone, having just returned from a lookbook shot in Milan.

Lucky for us, Toronto-based Cober offers a glimpse at her day-to-day on her largely unfiltered, just-as-I-am Instagram feed, where the model’s nine-month old daughter Lou makes the odd (adorable) appearance. Over the course of our chat, Cober opened up about motherhood, rebellion and yes, modelling.

Tell me about your day shooting for the cover of ELLE Canada's January issue.

“It was the quintessential Canadian vibe—a true collaboration. The location [Crown Flora Studio] was beautiful; it was like breathing in the tropics. I shot with [the photographer] Max Abadian 12 years ago. It was my very first shoot. So that was a very special moment. And I got to have my daughter on set.”

“Yes. I’m less inclined to say yes to some amazing projects. It’s much harder; I used to go from one job to the next, to the next. And now I have to be a lot more selective.”

Other than your schedule, what factors make you say yes?

“The people. I value my time, and to be away from someone I think is the greatest person on the planet, I want to make sure that I’m working with the right people. After 12 years, I have a better judge of things,”

How else have you evolved as a model in 12 years?

“I feel like I can collaborate a bit more with the people running the ship. I can be a bit more involved. I think now there’s a bit more of an interest in who I am as a person, rather than just what I look like. I’m not sure I like that yet.”

So how do you feel about that? It sounds like it plays into today’s phenomenon of the Insta-model.

“I’m in my 30s now, so I feel like I kind of skipped it. I like to use Instagram to post the pictures of what I want to show, as opposed to letting it have anything to do with work. Once I did a fragrance shoot, I understood that ‘now you’re the face!’ There was a lot of PR, a lot of hype. I had a moment of feeling like I wanted to keep my business and my life separate.

Would you say you’re shy?

“I had an amazing agent when I started in Toronto. I learned that this is a business and you’re self-employed. At the end of the day, you run you. There are a lot of beautiful faces out there, but there are less kind people. I approached going into my agency as my biggest casting. I wouldn’t say I’m shy, but I’m professional.”

Do you feel like this isn’t what you singed up for when you started?

“I was lucky to be able to stop modelling and come back. When I first started skateboarding, everyone thought that was really cool and wanted to incorporate it [into shoots]. And I was like, ‘this is just my mode of transportation because my bike got stolen! ‘I’m not a skater!”

Do you still skateboard?

“Yeah. Everywhere.”

What’s your advice to young models?

“Just love yourself so much for you! The business is always changing; something that doesn’t fit one day will fit another day.”

How did you start modelling?

“I was scouted by an incredible model scout, Anthony Gordon. He was an amazing ballet dancer and he had an eye for faces. He wasn’t a scout at the time, but we went to the same high school, 10 years apart. He found my picture in a yearbook. 5 days later he bumped into me at a shopping mall and when I told him my name, he said, ‘you will not believe this!’ and told me the story and took me to Elmer Olsen. Then I did my first editorial and that was the start."

Was there a point when you thought to yourself “wow, I’m a model. This is my career now.”

“No, I think that took a couple of years. I remember [the agency] showing me Daria on the cover of Vogue and explaining that that was my potential, then I went straight to New York, and from there to Paris.”

What made you stop modelling for a while?

“I came from an athletic background and I was a swimmer. The agency in Paris sent me back immediately because they said I was too big. I came back to Canada, and I thought, ‘this is my body.’ It was the size of my hands and my wrists [that they talked about].”

How did it feel to hear that?

“It made me stronger, more rebellious. But it gave me the opportunity to stop, and start again. When I was 21 I stopped for four months and I went to South America.”

Do you have any hopes or goals for your career?

“An amazing beauty contract or something that sets up 6o days of the year. Before I didn’t want to know what was coming up the next month. Now I love the idea of having more of a set schedule.”

So what does life look like right now?

“For now, I’m just enjoying. My daughter travels so well, and my husband works from home. So on the days we have nothing, we’re just exploring Toronto.”